Phase cannon
A phase cannon was a phase-modulated energy weapon, a precursor to the phaser of the 23rd and 24th centuries. Specifications Designed as a starship-based version of the hand-held phase pistol, the phase cannon was rated for a maximum power output of 500 gigajoules. The phase cannon assembly, equipped with multiphasic emitters, had a maximum yield of 80 gigajoules. (ENT: "Silent Enemy", "Cogenitor") The prototypes of ship-mounted phase cannons were first introduced in the mid-22nd century, designed as the primary defense of NX class starships, serving as a supplement for the lacking spatial torpedoes of the time. ''Enterprise'' was originally designed to carry three phase cannons. However, due to Enterprise's premature launch in 2151, Jupiter Station hadn't the chance to install the cannons, though Enterprise was given one of the prototypes. Upon the cannon's installation, and that of two more made from scratch, the phase cannon assembly was located on the same deck as the the ship's armory. (ENT: "Silent Enemy", "Cogenitor") Phase cannons were generally more powerful than spatial torpedoes and were therefore more effective in a firefight. Initially, a ship's phase cannons could not be fired while the vessel was at warp, as doing so would cause the weapon's particle discharge to destabilize the ship's warp field. This would result in serious damage to both of the ship's warp nacelles, and could possibly even destroy them. By 2152, Malcolm Reed had corrected this problem as Enterprise was able to fire its aft phase cannon at warp while it was pursued by the Suliban fleet. (ENT: "Fallen Hero", "Shockwave, Part II") Despite their power, phase cannons were sometimes unable to penetrate the defenses of other alien vessels. Not only did they prove relatively powerless against the first vessel they were used against, but it would have also taken a sustained beam to punch through the hull of a D5 class Klingon battle cruiser. That was assuming, of course, that the battle cruiser remained still long enough, which was unlikely. Likewise, the cannons could be easily taken out with a single shot from a Klingon Bird-of-Prey. (ENT: "Silent Enemy", "Judgment", "The Expanse") Uses & applications Initital test On August 30th, 2151, Malcolm Reed and Charles Tucker were given the job of installing the prototype, as well as building two more from scratch. They were able to accomplish the installation -- two forward cannons, one aft -- in 48 hours, a job that would have taken the armory team at Jupiter Station at least a week. The initial test of Enterprise's phase cannons was conducted on September 1st, on an asteroid. Following the first shot, it was determined that the blast yield of the shot was ten times what was expected and that the cannons had been manipulated by a mysterious alien race. The resulting overload of the phase modulators caused a plasma recoil that blew out relays across decks C and D. When the alien beings attacked Enterprise, the cannons proved ineffective against the alien vessel's shielding. Reed and Tucker then caused another overload, this time intentionally, while using the gravity plating on C and D decks to absorb the plasma recoil. The resulting overload again increased the canon's blast yield, which disabled the aliens' shields and allowed Enterprise to gain the upper hand. (ENT: "Silent Enemy") Further uses In August of 2152, Reed proposed new tactical protocols that would increase the efficiency of the Enterprise's weapons, including the phase cannons. While under the influence of radiation emitted from a nearby singularity, Reed implemented the new protocols without Captain Archer's permission. Later, with the rest of the crew having succumbed to the radiation, Archer and T'Pol attempted to navigate Enterprise away from the singularity as quickly as possible by piloting the starship through a field of debris. When the need arose to use weapons against a large meteoroid that was in the ship's path, T'Pol worried that the phase cannons could not be charged in time. However, when a smaller piece of the meteroid collided with the ship, Reed's tactical protocols initiated and the phase cannons were automatically brought online. T'Pol then used the cannons to destroy the remaining meteoroids, allowing Enterprise to safely escape the singularity. Following this incident, Archer informed Reed that his new security protocols would be made standard procedure. (ENT: "Singularity") The following month, the cannons were used in an attempt to disable the engines of a Retellian freighter which had captured Commander Tucker. Although the cannons appeared to disable the freighter's port warp nacelle, it was merely a ruse by the freighter's pilot, Firek Goff, to disable the Enterprise's warp engines. (ENT: "Precious Cargo") The ship's aft phase cannon was later used in defense against a group of Suliban cell ships which were pursuing Enterprise in an attempt to capture the time travel pod in the ship's launch bay. The cannon destroyed at least one cell ship; several Tholian starships took care of the rest. (ENT: "Future Tense") Further References * ENT: ** "Cease Fire" ** "The Crossing" ** "Horizon" ** "Anomaly" ** "Twilight" ** "Similitude" ** "Proving Ground" ** "Hatchery" ** "Damage" ** "The Forgotten" ** "E²" ** "Storm Front" ** "Storm Front, Part II" ** "Home" (pulsed phase cannons) ** "The Augments" ** "Awakening" ** "Kir'Shara" ** "Babel One" ** "Bound" Background Information It is not known what weapon, besides spatial torpedoes, were used aboard Enterprise prior to (and sometimes after) the installation of the phase cannons. A weapon used by Enterprise during "Broken Bow" appeared to fire a type of plasma burst; there was never any on-screen reference as to what this weapon is called, but it could have been the same type of plasma weapon used aboard the shuttlepods in "Shadows of P'Jem" (ENT). It is also possible that they were the "low-yield particle cannons" referenced in "Judgment" (ENT), although these could have just as easily been a reference to the phase cannons. Visual inspection of the ship reveals twelve ports from which phase cannons may be mounted, with the NX-01 having fired from at least ten of those twelve ports in at least one episode, "E²". The basic configuration by that time has eight of these ports mounted forward on the top and bottom of the saucer and four ports mounted on the top and bottom of the double catamaran hull. However, it is unknown whether the weapons fired from these ports were phase cannons or the mystery weapon mentioned above. If they were phase cannons, then several new phase cannons were added previously, likely during the refit prior to the search for the Xindi superweapon. Spock's remark in TOS: "Balance of Terror" that the Earth-Romulan War was fought with atomic weapons suggests that the phase cannon and other phase weapons may have utilized a form of atomic energy. This is assuming, of course, that the weapons were used during the war, which is likely. However, because an overload of the phase cannon's phase modulators caused a plasma recoil, it seems likely the weapons are operated on plasma. It is possible that Spock's comment did not mean the war was fought entirely with atomic weapons, although that may have been the primary weapon employed during the conflict (i.e., spatial torpedoes). Category:Weapons de:Phasenkanone